Rescue

Today I got dragged off by the sheriff.

Not in handcuffs or anything- in a boat.

Around 11 this morning, I got a phone call from Counselor N, who was calling from the cell phone we keep in the boat in case of emergencies. The boat had gas, but had stopped working and they were stranded.

APDA and I called the police because last year, I had asked the DNR what to do if someone got stranded and they told me you could call 911 and be rescued. I knew we couldn't drag the pontoon with canoes or even our little rescue boat (which is a small row boat with a motor), so, with the police on the way, we ran down to the beach to get in the rescue boat to go out and let them know what was going on and to stay calm. Except that neither of us know how to use the rescue boat, so I had someone go get MA to help.

It was about 60 degrees outside, drizzling and the kids had all jumped in the water to go swimming off the pontoon, so they were wet and freezing. MA and I drove out to the pontoon and he attempted to fix the motor, but he couldn't get it to work either. The police were no where in sight and so we decided to take 4 kids at a time in the rescue boat to get them back to the beach. It took over an hour for him to go back and forth with the kids. I was impressed that the campers were so patient and positive, despite being stuck, having to be patient, and getting colder and colder. I gave away my jacket and sweatshirt, and so I was feeling pretty miserable as well.

Eventually we got all of the kids off the boat and it was just Counselor N and I. By that time, the pontoon had floated near a dock and was crashing into it, lifting the sections up and I was panicking that we were going to damage the dock or the boat. So Counselor N jumped back in the water to try to push the boat away and we tied onto a tree that was hanging over the lake from shore. In the process of that, I dropped the phone in the lake, so I couldn't call APDA on shore. We were wet, wondering where the police were and laughing at the ridiculousness.

MA came back and took Counselor N back to camp and the police showed up at the same time. An hour and a half after this whole thing started, they towed me and the pontoon back to the beach. I was wet and cold, but yet another crisis had been faced and solved. It's only Thursday of the FIRST WEEK!! If we keep going at this rate, it's going to be a ridiculous summer...